Railroad-chair



y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARCHIBALD MCGUFFIE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 31,816, dated March 26, 1861.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, ARCHIBALD MGGUFFIE, of the city -of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and Sta-te of New York, have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Chairs, of which the following is a full and accurate description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, same letters referring to like parts in all the figures.

Of these drawings Figure l is a perspective view of the underside of my improved chair as connecting two sections of rail. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same showing the method of attaching it to the sleepers. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are details.

Thenature of this invention consists in dividing the chair longitudinally into two wedge shaped sections-one section being provided with a tongue and the other with a corresponding groove so that they may clamp the sections of the rail and hold them firmly by merely driving them together.

The'construction of the aforesaid chair is as follows: The section B (Fig. l) being constructed as shown in plan aiid section in Figs. 5 and t-thatl is tov say having the edge c inclined to the line of the groove o which receives the rail and Aalso having the groove or hook z, attached to the edge a.' and parallel with it; and the section A of said rail (Fig. l) being constructed as shown in Figs. 3 and l that is to say having the edge c corresponding to the edge of section B but contrary thereto and having the wedge cl formedso as to iit into the groove or hook 7L, as seen in Figs. 1 and 7 itis evident thatvon placing the edge a in contact with the edge c and the wedge cl in the groove h (as shown in Fig. 7 the distance apart of the outer edges of the combined sections will depend upon the relative longitudinal positions of the two sections A and B. Thus if A (Fig. l) be driven toward the left while B is kept stationary the space destined to receive the through notches formed in the sides of the chair, or if it be made without these notches a spike driven at the wide end of each section of the chair will prevent their coming apart.

It will be seen that this chair not only holds the sections of the rail firmly together but it maybe tightened upon the rail Awithout any tendency to throw the sections of the rail out of line as chairs are very apt to do when a common wedge is used to fasten them to the rail by driving it between the latter and the chair. For as the sections of the chair approachequally from both sides everything is kept even and in line. Neither is there any complication about the different parts or about their use. The whole ar# rangement is simple and effective andmay be used by any laborer while from the closeness with which the whole chair is drawn to the rail it adds materially to the strength 'of the unction-this also being increased by the eXtra material forming the wedge and groove.

Having thus described my invention what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- Dividing the chair into two wedge shaped sections A and B provided respectively with the groove or hook 7L and wedge cZ-the whole operating in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

ARCHIBALD MCGUFFIE.

lVitnesses:

Jol-1N PHIN, H. 'MGGFFIE 

